Issue: A
Judicial Official has known Attorney General George
Jepsen for more than twenty years. They speak on the
telephone periodically, and they have socialized at
each other’s home, most recently approximately one
and one-half to two years ago. If Attorney General
Jepsen personally appeared in a case before the
Judicial Official, the Judicial Official would
recuse himself or herself. Does the Judicial
Official have a duty to disqualify himself/herself
or disclose his/her personal relationship with the
Attorney General in any proceeding in which a member
of the Office of the Attorney General has filed an
appearance?

Response: The
facts presented included the fact that when an
attorney in the Office of the Attorney General files
an appearance in a case, the appearance form
customarily is prepared using the following format:

Based upon the information
provided, the Committee members in attendance
unanimously determined as follows: consistent with
Rule 1.2 of the Code of Judicial Conduct, which
requires Judicial Officials to act at all times in a
manner that promotes public confidence in the
impartiality of the judiciary and sets forth the
test for “appearance of impropriety”, Rule 2.11(a),
which requires a judge to disqualify himself or
herself “in any proceeding in which the judge’s
impartiality might reasonably be questioned”, and
Comment (1) to Rule 2.11, which notes that “a judge
is disqualified whenever the judge’s impartiality
might reasonably be questioned, regardless of
whether any of the specific provisions of subsection
(a)(1) through (5) apply”, the Judicial Official
does not have a duty to automatically disqualify
himself or herself when a member of the Attorney
General’s Office appears; however, the Judicial
Official has a duty to disclose his or her personal
relationship with the Attorney General to the
parties and their counsel. Thereafter, if a motion
to disqualify is filed, the Judicial Official must
exercise his or her discretion in deciding the
motion based upon the information provided in the
motion and the accompanying affidavit, as provided
for in Connecticut Practice Book § 1-23, as well as
the particular circumstances of the case.